Confined to Quarters

In normal times, the OLLI Shutterbugs range over the state, the country and even the world to take pictures. Staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic has made us look at what’s right around us for good subjects. Rich Edwards was probably the most adventurous, traveling to a goat farm in May and then to the Blairsville farmer’s market in Georgia in July for these shots of a vendor and honey in sunlight, as irresistible to a photographer as to a honey lover. Gail Parsons, master naturalist, shot the pictures of a yellow-sided skimmer and a black swallowtail butterfly getting ready to drink nectar from a thistle at Lake Dan Preserve in northwestern Hillsborough County. In Frank Weitzman’s household, the newest family member is Alvin, an Aussiedoodle (a cross between an Australian shepherd and a standard poodle) a year and a half old. What eyes you have, Alvin! My shooting has all been on my morning walk on Tampa Palms Boulevard, where I got pictures of a gray squirrel with an acorn, stroller mates and a great blue heron taking off. — SHELLY BELZER

The Photographers

Rich Edwards is a retired high school teacher from New York, who enjoys photography, golf and motorcycling. He taught English and journalism, and in night school he taught photography and darkroom techniques.  Photo by Rich Edwards.

Gail Parsons, master naturalist, has taught OLLI courses on Tampa wild places and birdwatching. She has served on the boards of the Suncoast Native Plant Society, the Tampa Audubon Society, the Florida Audubon Society and the Tampa Bay Sierra Club. She is the retired owner of Overhead Door Company of Tampa Bay, a garage-door distributorship. Photo by Shelly Belzer.

Frank Weitzman, a retired radiologist, has taken, taught and coached OLLI classes for about 15 years.  His interests include photography and Windows computing. Dr. Weitzman is co-president of the SNUG (Seniors Networking Users Group).  Photo by Frank Weitzman.

Shelly Belzer retired in 2007 after 43 years as a New York Times editor. He organized the OLLI Shutterbugs SIG in 2018 and is its coordinator. He is also a founding member of the OLLI Hikers SIG.  Photo by Jane Applegate Belzer.

Despite the changes COVID-19 has forced on us, OLLI-USF has twelve active SIG’s (Shared Interest Groups), appealing to a broad range of interests.  You can learn more about them here.–Editor